Author services terms

These terms apply when you commission editing, design or publishing services from Pen Tribune. They sit alongside the written quote for your project. If the quote and these terms differ, the quote applies.

1. Quotes and your agreement

Every project begins with a written quote that sets out the services, the price, the payment schedule and the expected timetable. A contract is formed when you accept the quote in writing, for example by email. A quote stays open for 30 days unless it says otherwise.

2. Your right to cancel

If you are a consumer and our contract is made at a distance, for example by email, you have the right to cancel it within 14 days of the day the contract is made, without giving a reason. This right comes from the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. To cancel, tell us clearly by email at hello@pentribune.com.

We will not start work within those 14 days unless you expressly ask us to. If you ask us to start and then cancel within the 14 days, you will pay a proportionate amount for the work done up to the time you told us. If the service has been fully performed at your request within that period, you lose the right to cancel. We will ask you to confirm that you understand this before we begin.

We will refund any money due to you within 14 days of your cancellation, using the method you paid with.

3. Payment

Payment terms are set out in your quote. For larger projects we may ask for a deposit before work starts and the balance on delivery. Invoices are payable within 14 days unless the quote says otherwise.

4. What we will do

We will carry out the services with reasonable care and skill and within the timetable in the quote. If we expect to miss a date, we will tell you as soon as we can. Each service includes the rounds of revision stated in the quote. Further rounds or changes of scope will be quoted separately before any extra work is done.

5. What we need from you

You agree to supply the material we need on time and to confirm that you have the right to publish it. You are responsible for the content of your book, including its accuracy and its compliance with the law. Editorial advice does not amount to legal advice about defamation, privacy or copyright.

6. Copyright and ownership

• You keep the copyright in your text at all times. We claim no rights in it.
• Once you have paid in full, the final files we produce for you are yours to use for your book in any edition and format. This includes the typeset interior, the ebook and the cover.
• Where a cover uses licensed images or fonts, those remain subject to their own licences. We will tell you about any restrictions before you approve the design.
• We will only show your cover or book in our own portfolio if you agree.

7. Confidentiality

We treat your manuscript and your correspondence as confidential. We share them only with an editor or designer working on your project, who is bound by the same duty. Our privacy policyexplains how we handle personal data.

8. Publication

Where we help you publish, the book is listed under retailer accounts in your name, and all royalties are paid directly to you. We do not guarantee sales, reviews or rankings, and we cannot control a retailer's decisions.

9. Liability

Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for any liability that cannot be limited by law. If you are a consumer, you also have legal rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and nothing in these terms affects them. Otherwise, our total liability for any project is limited to the price paid for that project, and we are not liable for loss of profits or indirect loss.

10. Ending a project

Either of us may end a project by giving written notice if the other seriously breaks these terms and does not put it right within 14 days. You will pay for work completed up to that point, and we will send you the files for that work.

11. Complaints and law

If something goes wrong, please tell us at hello@pentribune.com and we will try to resolve it quickly. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you are a consumer, you may bring proceedings in the courts of the part of the United Kingdom where you live.